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PUNDIT PREP– USA Today lead story, “Health care law changing behavior: Medicare patients save $1.5B on meds,” by Kelly Kennedy: “More than 2.65 million Medicare recipients have saved more than $1.5 billion on their prescriptions this year, a $569-per-person average, while premiums have remained stable, the government plans to announce today. That's because of the provision of the health care law that put a 50% discount on prescription drugs in the ‘doughnut hole,’ the gap between traditional and catastrophic coverage in the drug benefit, also known as Part D. And, as of the end of November, more than 24 million people, or about half of those with traditional Medicare, have gone in for a free annual physical or other screening exam since the rules changed this year because of the health care law.” http://usat.ly/vsuWeh

NOW, WATCH THIS DRIVE – Mitt Romney last night, to an Iowa tele-townhall: “I have to feel that this president has been a failure. The other day I understand that Chris Christie said that he was a bystander president -- that he watches affairs and has not guided affairs. And in some respects, his idea of a ‘hands-on’ approach to the economy is getting a grip on his golf club. He’s going off for 17 days in Hawaii. He’ll be playing a lot of golf. He told Congress that they need to stay in session and pass his tax breaks for the payroll tax, and that they shouldn’t leave for vacation until they did that. And yet, he’s going off for 17 days and for golf in the sun. And I just think it’s time to have a president whose idea of being ‘hands on’ does not mean getting a better grip on the golf club.” YouTube audio http://bit.ly/vO1fRp

VIRAL VIDEO -- Gawker flags a 2004 video of Romney attacking John Kerry for flip-flopping. The attack starts about :20 in, @KevinRobillard: “In politics, it’s pretty much standard operating procedure: When you’re running for office, you look at your opponent’s record, and you find some place where he or she has changed positions and you say they’re a flip-flopper. And that’s a pretty standard thing. In this case, this guy really is. This guy is different from what you’ve experienced before. … [H]e sort of floats between both issues, both sides of things. … I think the problem, for those who look at John Kerry, for those that don’t understand how he can be so vacillating, it stems from the fact that he is very conflicted.” http://youtu.be/W4Dgl9acPZo

“BEHIND THE CURTAIN COVER STORY” – Robert Draper talks to Rachel Nolan on the N.Y. Times Magazine’s blog, “The 6th Floor”: “One Romney adviser told me pointedly that the candidate is ‘more like Tony Blair than Bush.’ Unlike our 43rd president, Romney thrives on data from divergent sources and on vigorous debate. In fact, the open question about Romney is whether he can make ANY decision from the gut rather than from dispassionate analysis. … I think Romney in a sense is haunted by Bush’s presidency in that the latter abandoned conservative orthodoxy on education, government spending and health entitlements. The hunger to elect an authentic conservative springs in part from Bush’s apostasies, and the former Massachusetts governor isn’t the likely choice on that score.” http://nyti.ms/s66qGB

TOP TALKER -- “Mitt’s supporters: Hit Newt Harder,” by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns: “Romney’s backers aren’t panicking … But to many … among the GOP donor elite, Gingrich looks like Romney’s most formidable opponent to date, and a rival who requires a much more serious response than the previous conservative alternative, Herman Cain. … ‘I have disagreed with his strategy,’ said former Senate GOP Leader Trent Lott, an early Romney backer who has helped him raise money. ‘I think he could’ve closed the deal out before now. He’s run a little too much of a risk-averse campaign. I would have liked for him to have had a higher profile, been more aggressive — so it didn’t wind up as Romney and one other.’ …

“Even as Romney donors remain confident of their candidate’s chances, they say the former Massachusetts governor will have to deliver a more explicit contrast message against Gingrich, whose long but familiar experience in national politics may make him more difficult to define in negative terms. … [A Republican lobbyist’s] idea for pushback? ‘Marianne Gingrich needs to cut an ad in Iowa and South Carolina.’ That would be the candidate’s second wife, whom he divorced after carrying on an affair with his current wife, Callista.” http://bit.ly/vITZ8C

2012 DAY AHEAD – AP: “Mitt Romney is picking up an endorsement from former Vice President Dan Quayle. Romney is set to meet Tuesday with Quayle in Paradise Valley, Ariz., where Quayle is expected to announce his backing … Among other activities scheduled Tuesday by Republicans seeking the GOP nomination, Rick Santorum is hosting town hall meetings in the Iowa towns of Storm Lake and Spencer. And Jon Huntsman is speaking to the Heritage Foundation's Bloggers Briefing in Washington.”
DRIVING THE DAY – 1:55 p.m. ET, “THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on the economy, Osawatomie [Kansas] High School: … The President will talk about how he sees this as a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those working to join it. He’ll lay out the choice we face between a country in which too few do well while too many struggle to get by, and one where we’re all in it together – where everyone engages in fair play, everyone does their fair share, and everyone gets a fair shot. [In 1910], President Teddy Roosevelt came to Osawatomie, Kansas and called for a New Nationalism, where everyone gets a fair chance, a square deal, and an equal opportunity to succeed.”

--AT A BRIEFING in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, a senior administration official said the White House has worked on the speech for “well over a month”: “There's a tremendous amount of parallel between that moment in time in the economy [1910] and how middle-working-class families felt, and where we're at right now. … [O]ne of Roosevelt's … most important critiques [was] about things being out of balance, … that there were going to have to be some rules of the road to ensure that. There was also a sense that his party, … when he was President as a Republican, had kind of gone adrift. And I think that's what we're seeing here today, in Washington. So, … we would encourage you to read [T.R’s] speech, because I do think it's kind of eerie how much of it would apply today. …

“[T]here’s been increased media attention on income inequality, but the American people have been feeling this for a very, very long time. … How do we build an economy that’s not based on bubbles and financial instruments, but is solid? … [A]n economy that lets everybody have a fair shot and a fair shake. … [T]he President will remind the country that at various times in our history we’ve faced these choices about which direction we’re going to go. … The President is going to -- as he has often -- … state again clearly his fundamental belief that the American free market system is the most powerful generator of jobs and growth the history -- the world has ever known. But that free market doesn’t mean you have a free license, and there’s no doubt that things veered a little bit towards that free license I think in the past decade.”

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JENNIFER PALMIERI to leave CAP on Friday; start Monday in White House – Glenn Thrush: “The White House is bringing onboard high-octane Clinton administration veteran Jennifer Palmieri, a top official at the progressive Center for American Progress think tank, to beef up its communications unit heading into 2012 … Palmieri, who currently serves as president of CAP’s political action fund and as a senior vice president at the parent organization, replaces former deputy communications director Jennifer Psaki, who left for the private sector earlier this fall. One Democratic insider described the hire as ‘wow’ because Palmieri is a true Obama outsider with a reputation as a canny political strategist. She’ll have instant credibility within the tight-knit West Wing with responsibilities that will expand well beyond her title …

“Obama’s top aides, led by communications director Dan Pfeiffer, have been in talks with Palmieri for about a month. Palmieri has deep connections to the Washington press corps, having served as DNC national press secretary during the 2002 cycle and John Edwards’ top spokesperson two years later. She has even deeper links to top players in the Obama administration. Palmieri began her career working for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, then a California congressman, and went on to serve as a special assistant to Panetta when he became Bill Clinton’s chief of staff when Clinton was president. She was one of the few senior staffers to spend eight years in the Clinton White House, the last three years as a deputy press secretary. Her relationship with Panetta will come in handy as the White House and Pentagon negotiate the deepest cuts to the Pentagon in a generation.” http://politi.co/vbPja8

WEST WING MUST-READ – L.A. Times col. 1, “Drone may give up U.S. secrets: The aircraft that crashed in Iran has cutting-edge stealth and surveillance technology that other nations could exploit,” by W.J. Hennigan in L.A., and David S. Cloud and Ken Dilanian in D.C.: “The radar-evading drone that crash-landed over the weekend in Iran was on a mission for the CIA, according to a senior U.S. official, raising fears that the aircraft's sophisticated technology could be exploited by Tehran or shared with other American rivals. It was unclear whether the drone's mission took it over Iran or whether it strayed there accidentally because of technical malfunctions, the official said. …

“The jet-powered, bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel drone is considered one of the most advanced in the U.S. arsenal, with stealth technology and sophisticated computer systems that enable it to penetrate deep into hostile territory … ‘I don't think this is a dagger pointed at the heart of democracy,’ said Loren Thompson, defense policy analyst for the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. ‘A lot of information about this aircraft was already known by foreign military intelligence officials.’ … [But a] U.S. official … said that losing the Sentinel is a major security breach. … ‘It's bad — they'll have everything’ in terms of the secret technology in the aircraft, the official said. ‘And the Chinese or the Russians will have it too.’” http://lat.ms/tgH5ly

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

--Biden: United States ready to help Greece – Reuters/Athens: “The United States will support Greece during these difficult times, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said during a visit to Athens on Monday, in remarks that offered reassurance rather than concrete aid.
‘I am here to tell you that we stand with you in solidarity as you meet some difficult requirements of the IMF and European Union,’ Biden told reporters before a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos. ‘It is a difficult time for Greece and we stand ready to help in every way we can.’ Biden travelled to Greece before a key EU summit on the debt crisis in Brussels on Friday, in … a crucial week for the common currency.

“Illustrating Washington's concern that the euro zone's troubles could sap the fragile U.S. recovery, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will separately visit the euro zone this week to urge its leaders to act decisively to control the crisis. U.S. officials speaking in Washington on Geithner's mission stressed that he would bring advice and encouragement rather than money, at a time of severe budget constraints back home.”

--“Clinton chastises Russia, denounces Belarus,” by AFP’s Lachlan Carmichael in Vilnius, Lithuania: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chastised Russia Tuesday for what she called its flawed parliamentary polls, and denounced ex-Soviet Belarus for persecuting democracy campaigners. Speaking at a high-level meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Clinton said polls that were ‘neither free nor fair’ in Russia and other nations served only to undermine the people's confidence in their rulers.”

PHIL SCHILIRO to leave at end of year to explore opportunities outside of government – White House release: “The White House … released statements on the departure of Assistant to the President and Special Advisor Phil Schiliro. Schiliro was announced as Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs on November 15, 2008 and served in that role … until January of 2011. During that time he presided over the passage of a series of critical pieces of legislation including the Recovery Act, the Affordable Care Act, Wall Street reform and New START, as well as the confirmations of two Supreme Court justices. Since then, he has served as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor …

“President Obama said, ‘As my advisor and chief liaison to Congress during one of the most productive legislative periods in our history, Phil Schiliro helped shepherd through a series of historic accomplishments on behalf of the American people, from health care reform that will make coverage more affordable and accessible to Wall Street reform that will protect consumers and our economy. The White House will not be the same without Phil, but more importantly, the country would not be the same without his steady leadership and tireless effort over the past three years.’

“White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said, ‘Phil Schiliro has been an integral member of the President’s team. Regardless of the issue at hand, Phil’s thoughtful counsel, sound judgment, and unparalleled understanding of and relationships with Congress have made his advice invaluable. His presence will be sorely missed at the White House, but his tremendous contributions to the American people will live on long beyond his departure.’”

THE V.P.’s WEEK AHEAD: “On Thursday, … Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel to Neptune Beach, Florida to discuss college affordability. The Vice President’s remarks at Duncan U. Fletcher High School, part of the Duval County School District, will be open press.”

GOP 2012, with @KevinRobillard:

POLL DU JOUR: WashPost A1, “Gingrich has strong lead in Iowa race,” by Dan Balz and Jon Cohen in Des Moines: “Gingrich, according to the survey, has advantages that extend well beyond the horse race that put him in an enviable position in the final weeks before the state’s Jan. 3 caucuses, which serve as the formal start of the long nominating season. On electability, empathy and handling the economy, he does as well as or better than former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has long been described as the nominal front-runner for the nomination, or Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.). … With 33 percent support among likely caucus-goers in the new poll, Gingrich runs well ahead of his two main rivals, Romney and Paul, a libertarian whose passionate following and anti-government rhetoric have made him a durable force in the race. Both are at 18 percent. But Iowa Republicans are far from decided. More than six in 10 potential caucus-goers say they could change their minds, and even among the likeliest attendees, fewer than half say they have definitely chosen a candidate.” http://wapo.st/sQpy8g

--“Romney staff spent nearly $100,000 to hide records,” by Reuters’ Mark Hosenball: “Theresa Dolan, former director of administration for the governor's office, told Reuters that Romney's efforts to control or wipe out records from his governorship were unprecedented. Dolan said that in her 23 years as an aide to successive governors ‘no one had ever inquired about, or expressed the desire’ to purchase their computer hard drives before Romney's tenure. The cleanup of records by Romney's staff before his term ended included spending $205,000 for a three-year lease on new computers for the governor's office, according to official documents and state officials. In signing the lease, Romney aides broke an earlier three-year lease that provided the same number of computers for about half the cost - $108,000. Lease documents obtained by Reuters under the state's freedom of information law indicate that the broken lease still had 18 months to run. As a result of the change in leases, the cost to the state for computers in the governor's office was an additional $97,000.” http://reut.rs/u3NXxv

--“Gingrich courts K Street,” by Kenneth P. Vogel and Anna Palmer: “Gingrich’s Washington offensive launches in earnest Wednesday, with a $1,000-a-head fundraiser at the power restaurant Occidental Grill and Seafood. … Gingrich has certain advantages over his rivals when it comes to courting Washington. Even as he’s tried to cast himself as a reformer, his years as a political insider – capped by a decade in the advocacy industry – have left him with countless influential connections on K Street, the Hill and the conservative movement. And those ties are reflected in the fundraiser host committee, which includes former Reps. Robert Livingston (R-La.) and Robert Walker (R-Pa.), both of whom built lucrative lobbying practices after leaving Congress. … ‘K Street is predictable. It is full of people who see a parade and love to jump in front,’ said [influential tax lobbyist and Gingrich donor Ken] Kies. ‘Newt is the parade. The guys who signed on with Perry now realize they bought an Edsel and the guys with Romney now see he can’t get above 25 percent.’ … [M]ultiple lobbyists who raised money and support for Perry, whose campaign has foundered after a series of debate stumbles, told POLITICO that they’re considering switching their allegiance to Gingrich.”

-- “Gingrich takes Newt York by storm,” by Maggie Haberman: “Former House Speaker and currently surging GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich headed into the belly of the liberal beast Monday, meeting with Donald Trump, fundraising in Midtown, slamming Nancy Pelosi, needling reporters who asked about his controversial comments about poor children — and declaring he wants to run a 50-state campaign that puts New York in play. The high-profile string of events culminated with an appearance at an off-the-record conservative confab known as the Monday Meeting — and underscored how little Gingrich’s strategy has to do with boots on the ground in early states, and everything to do with messaging and his celebrity status. … Gingrich got in a direct dig at Romney, when he was asked by POLITICO whether the former Massachusetts governor — who has been defining his opponent as a lifelong politician — is one himself. ‘I don’t know that you ought to count running for the Senate in 1994, running for governor, then running for president for six years,’ Gingrich said. ‘I don’t know whether that makes him a career politician or not. I’ll let you decide.’” http://bit.ly/vxC5wy

--N.Y. Times A1 national edition, A17 in New York, “Fund-Raising Is Now Urgent in Gingrich Bid,” by Nicholas Confessore: “At a time when most of the Republican candidates are hustling for votes, Mr. Gingrich must, in matter of weeks, build a fund-raising infrastructure that can finance last-minute campaign trips, advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts in the early states and give him staying power to compete beyond them. … In an interview on Monday, his spokesman, R. C. Hammond, said that Mr. Gingrich would prevail by running a lean and strategic campaign, though he acknowledged that other candidates, such as Mr. Romney, would have an edge in fund-raising. ‘We don’t have to pay for consultants, we don’t need speechwriters — the candidate knows what he’s going to say,’ Mr. Hammond said. … [H]e has won the allegiance of only a small number of the high-dollar donors who can help a candidate raise tens of millions of dollars over a few months. As of September, only 293 donors had given Mr. Gingrich the maximum primary donation of $2,500; Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, Representative Ron Paul of Texas, and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former governor of Utah, all attracted more such donors.” http://nyti.ms/s66qGB

SPORTS BLINK – “Terry Francona Joins ESPN; Multi-faceted Role Includes Sunday Night Baseball Analyst” – ESPN release: “Terry Francona, two-time World Champion manager of the Boston Red Sox, has joined ESPN in a multiplatform role which will include serving as an analyst for Sunday Night Baseball … Francona will join Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser in the Sunday Night Baseball booth, replacing current Red Sox manager and former ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine. He [debuted last night] … from the Winter Meetings in Dallas.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL -- “Heisman Winner will be announced live on ESPN [at 8 p.m.] Saturday” – Heisman.com: “The five finalists for [the 77th annual] award are University of Wisconsin running back Montee Ball, Baylor University quarterback Robert Griffin III, Stanford University quarterback Andrew Luck, Louisiana State University cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, and University of Alabama running back Trent Richardson. … For the fourth straight year, two Heisman finalists will face each other in the BCS National Championship Game as Tyrann Mathieu will go up against Trent Richardson on January 9, 2012. … Andrew Luck is looking to be the second Cardinal to take home The Heisman Trophy after Jim Plunkett won in 1970.”
NFL – “Playoff Races: Contenders and pretenders,” by AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner: “With a month left in the regular season, the Packers, 49ers and Saints have separated themselves from the rest of the NFC, and perhaps the rest of the league. Green Bay and San Francisco already have secured division titles, and New Orleans is almost there. The AFC's elite, while not quite so accomplished, include the Ravens, Steelers, Patriots and Texans. … Nine teams sit at 7-5, and one (Giants) at 6-6. All are in the mix to either win their division or grab a wild-card spot. … [The Packers’] Aaron Rodgers is in the midst of one of the greatest years for any NFL player, quarterback or otherwise. The offense is so dynamic the Packers can outscore the mistakes of their gambling defense, which makes a bunch of them. …

“[New Orleans’] Drew Brees has an even deeper, more dangerous receiving corps and backfield than in 2009, and while the Saints also have issues on defense, they, too, can outscore them. … The 49ers … have become one of the NFL's surprise success stories. Having clinched their first playoff berth since 2002, the Niners have the kind of rugged, versatile defense that gives any team a chance. … As long as Tom Brady is slinging the ball and Bill Belichick is masterminding game plans, the Patriots can't be discounted. Their defense, though, isn't particularly reliable … There's no air of invincibility around them. Nor is there one around AFC defending champion Pittsburgh, which must protect Ben Roethlisberger better … Even with the enticing story they are writing with Tim Tebow, a forceful defense and some great clutch performances, it's difficult to see the Broncos riding deep into the playoffs.”

DESSERT -- “Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Cable News Series To Be Called ‘Newsroom,’” by TVNewser’s Alex Weprin: “According to a copy of Sorkin’s pilot script, … there are a few familiar (and very real) names mentioned in the pilot, and some of the plot points will look very familiar to avid cable news fans: Former ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor Dan Rather and current CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton get name-checked by Sorkin in the script, an effort to drive home the realism of the series. In one scene, a talented young producer that was brought over to UBS from CNN realizes that his new job may not be as secure as he thought it was. ‘Okay, I’m calling Jim Walton and begging for a job,’ he quips.” http://bit.ly/ulS8NE

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